Puppy Love
by rinalii
Summary: The young boy tries to understand the meaning of the word 'love'. Ken Amada x Female Protagonist


_This is a short story (possibly going to be a two-shot) I wrote for Ken x FemC, because I haven't seen a lot of stories for this couple. It's in first person narrative 'cause I wanted to try something new. I don't actually have an opinion of this pairing as I have no idea how the Justice SL goes. (I didn't max my courage in time.) I hope you Ken x FemC fans enjoy this. Non shippers (just directed to the close-minded, immature ones), please try to be mature about it and don't leave "EWW PEDO, or EWW SHOTA-CON" comments. Either that, or click the 'back' button of your browser._

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Persona 3.

* * *

_...I love you!_

_Why?_

_I don't know why... I just do!_

I sighed tiredly. This was the fifth shoujo manga that I've read today but I'm _still _confused. In every single one of these stories, it seemed as though all the characters randomly decide that they're in love on a whim. It didn't give any kind of reason at all.

The third one I read wasn't much help, the only thing I got from it was how the main girl would never stop talking about how 'handsome' the guy was. I still didn't have a clue but at least now I understand why girls are always crowding around Sanada-san.

The fourth one didn't make much sense either. At the start of the story, they both hated each other's guts but then towards the middle, they suddenly liked each other after they were stuck in that elevator. After a while, the girl realised she was in love with him after she heard that he was leaving the country. In the end, it just left me wondering whether being in love was all about being unhappy when they're not around.

I don't get it. I've read all five books all the way to the end... so why don't I still understand anything? Did I read it wrong? Am I just too young for this kind of thing? It kind of makes me wonder... Would Sanada-san or Junpei-san understand if they read any of these books? Or maybe there was a good reason that these books were intended for a female audience?

Hmm... Maybe I'm just taking the wrong approach; Some of these shoujo manga do tend to be overly dramatic. I remembered Yukari-san telling Fuuka-san something like that anyway.

Maybe I should try looking at the stuff that I'm used to reading. After all, action manga do have a tiny bit of romance in them too. I started thinking about Phoenix Ranger Featherman R and all the episodes I've seen...

Well, I guess there was this one scene in episode fourteen where Pheonix Ranger Featherman R saved a woman from this burning building. I remember the way he used his ultra powerful wind attack to take out the fire. It was kind of like Yukari-san's Garu attack... only so much cooler! I did get confused when the damsel in distress blurted out that she was in love with him _right_ _after_ he saved her. It was completely out of the blue if you ask me. But if that's the case... So then love is just... something that happens at random? Wait. No, that doesn't sound right. Maybe, it's possible she fell in love with him because he saved her life?

Ugh. My head hurts. None of this made sense.

Err... Ahh... I know how this must look like to you, but... it's not what you think! I don't usually read these types of girly manga as a hobby... O-or manga for that matter! I just hear people from my school talking about it a lot... That's how I know! Ha...ha... It's childish to read about stuff like that!

I've been reading this shoujo stuff because I wanted an explanation for this... weird feeling I get every time I'm around Kaori-san. At first, we never talked much because I didn't really know how to talk to a girl older than me. Yukari-san and Fuuka-san felt more like older sisters. I don't really talk to Mitsuru-san much and I have a lot of trouble with keeping up in a conversation with Aigis-san. But with Kaori-san... it felt different. She's always so kind to me. She doesn't look down on me because of my age. She didn't treat me as if I needed looking after all the time and actually made me feel like I was an equal.

She's also a very reliable leader, so I kind of assumed that she was a strong person. Imagine how surprised I was when she told me she liked to read manga, too! I guess that's just one of her many good qualities... she's got so many different sides to her. That and she's a lot fun to be around with. You can ask anyone in the dorm. They really enjoy hanging out with her. So did I... until I started getting nervous around her. I just wish I could get it out of my system, so I could go back to how things were before.

Why shoujo manga, you ask? Well, at first I thought it may have been... you know... the 'L' word? After all, I'm not exactly an expert when it comes to something like that. I want her to notice me, but I'm not sure if it's any different from how I want everyone to notice that I'm not a kid anymore. I don't get many friends that are girls who are older than me... so I wanted to make sure that I wasn't making a big deal over nothing. It's not like I could just ask anyone from the dorm, either. Especially not Kaori-san... she would probably just laugh at me. After all, how can I be sure about something I've never felt before?

* * *

"Damn you!" I heard someone familiar shouting outside the hallway so I went outside of my room to take a look.

It was Junpei-san. It looked like he was having some sort of wrestling match against the vending machine. After a few moments, he turned his head towards me noticing my presence.

"Oh, hey..." Heavy grunting. "...Ken. 'Sup?"

"What're you doing, Junpei-san? Did the machine swallow your money?" I raised an eyebrow, asking him quizically.

"Hmm... what" Angry frustrated grunt. "...money?" He looked sceptical, as if I just spoke to him in another language. It's really odd. I thought people his age knew how a vending machine works.

Since I didn't say anything, he turned his attention back to the machine giving it another kick. After a while, I heard a loud thud which made Junpei-san wear a victorious smirk. "YEEES! Hah! In your face, you stupid vending machine! How do you like me now?" I always thought Junpei-san was kind of weird. Although, that might be an understatement...

A thought suddenly came to me. Since reading all those shoujo manga left me with more questions than answers, then maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing if I spoke to Junpei-san about it... He's been visiting Chidori-san a lot lately so he might be able to help me. The only problem was that I wasn't sure if I can trust him with something like this because I barely talk to him. Not to mention that he probably won't take me seriously because he only sees me as a kid.

…

You might think I'm crazy but I was desperate and I couldn't really think of anything else. I'll just have to find some way to keep him quiet about this later...

I wanted him to know that this wasn't some kind of joke. So I cleared my throat and put on a serious voice. I hate my voice. Why did I have to sound so much like a kid? "Junpei-san... I wanted to ask you about some-"

I stopped talking when I realised he wasn't paying any attention to me. He was too busy trying to open his can of Cielo Mist. As soon as he did... there was a loud squirting noise and then the contents of the can came pouring out rapidly, kind of like a small fountain. Except the flow and movement looked more aggressive than a normal fountain, not to mention it was making its way all over Junpei-san's clothes. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Aw, maaaan! Son of a-" He stopped his sentence noticing that I was still there. I sighed, frowning at him a little. It's not like I'm an idiot. I knew what he was going to say. I'm not as childish as he thinks..

He smiled at me, giving me his trademark Junpei grin. "Oh, sorry kiddo. I'll wipe this shi- I mean stuff off me first... then we can talk. Need some help with your homework or something?" Kiddo? I knew it. It was silly of me to think that Junpei-san would take what I had to say to him seriously. If I tell him anything, he's just probably going to laugh at me. Maybe he wasn't the right person to ask after all. I should've just listened to my instincts...

"Actually, never mind. You seem a bit busy... I'll just ask someone else." I walked away leaving him alone with his beverage. Right now, reading another shoujo manga doesn't seem like such a bad idea anymore. I don't know what I was thinking...

* * *

I was getting kind of hungry, so I decided to go down and get something to eat. Reading all that shoujo manga really took it out on me. I reached the foot of the stairs and made my way to the refrigerator, hoping that Junpei-san didn't forget to throw out the milk carton again...

My heart skipped a beat when I saw that Kaori-san was there. She was sitting on the sofa and chatting happily with Yukari-san. It felt nice to see Kaori-san looking cheerful like that. It must be one of those 'girl talks' that Junpei-san told me about. I remembered when I asked him what kind of things girls talked about. He just told me that it's something us guys will never understand.

She wasn't in her usual clothes. Today, she wore this orange summer dress, it was kind of like Fuuka-san's except it didn't have any frills. It suits her... the orange dress really brings out that bright ruby gleam in her eyes. I knew it was rude, yet I couldn't stop looking at her. I've never seen her look this... pretty before and that was just lightly putting it. B-but... I'm not saying that she didn't always look nice!

...

Uh-oh. I felt my heart freeze. She caught me staring at her! I looked away immediately and closed my eyes. The last thing I wanted was to see Kaori-san looking angry at me. I've seen what happens every time Junpei-san said something... 'inappropriate.' Yukari-san and Kaori-san weren't so forgiving when it came to that kind of thing.

"Hey, Ken-kun." I slowly opened my eyes, guessing it's safe because I didn't sense any hostility from the sound of her voice.

"..."

I wanted to say something. I really did. But no matter how hard I tried, my throat felt dry and my face felt so warm... It was summer, so how could I be catching a cold at this time of the year? I felt two things as I saw her greeting me with that cheerful smile... relief that she wasn't angry with me, and anxiety because of the way she was smiling at me. Until now, I didn't think it was possible to feel two different things at once.

"Is everything okay, Ken-kun?" Yukari-san looked at me concernedly with her brows furrowed.

"Um, it's nothing..." I manage to stutter... very glad that it was Yukari-san who asked. I didn't want to make it seem like I was ignoring Kaori-san again. This was getting serious... I really need to do something about this. "It's just that... uh I noticed Kaori-san looks a little... different today..." WHAT? What am I saying? Stupid, stupid, stupid! I didn't need to add that in!

"Ah... yeah. Yukari and Fuuka picked it out for me when we went shopping the other day. They said it'd look good on me." She paused after looking at me, then frowned. "...Does it look weird?"

"No! No! Not at all! You look... nice, Kaori-san." I managed to say after a long awkward pause. I didn't want to ignore her a second time. She was such a nice person and it would be rude of me to do that to her again...

"Ken-kun. About the shoujo manga I lent you-" See? What did I tell you? I don't read that kind of girly stuff as a hobby! It was Yukari-san who lent me the manga. I asked her for it and told her a friend from my school wanted to read it... but you already know why I lied about that.

"Ken-kun asked you for shoujo manga?" No! No! No! Why did Kaori-san have that mischevous grin on her face?

"I-It's not what you think, Kaori-san! It's for my friend at school!" I tried very hard to hold back the anxiety I felt as I looked at her smiling face. It's more important for her to know that I don't read that stuff! I don't!

She just... giggled in amusement. Was there something funny about my reaction? Did she not believe me?

"You're cute, Ken-kun." I wasn't sure if she was joking... or if she said that just to be nice. It didn't really matter either way. I could still feel my face burning as I tried not to look directly at her.

"Anyway, Ken-kun..." Yukari-san spoke, I almost forgot that she was here too... "I was just going to say to tell your friend that I need the books back in a couple of days. I've got another friend at school who also wants to borrow them."

"Ah, of course Yukari-san. I'll make sure to give them back to you by then."

"Huh? How are you so sure when she's going to finish it?" Yukari-san asked me curiously, raising an eyebrow.

"Ah!" It made Kaori-san giggle even more. I'm so stupid. "I-I mean... I'll make sure to give it back to you a-after I tell her that!" I'm not a very good liar. I could tell by the way Yukari-san continued to look at me sceptically. Stupid, stupid, stupid...

I was relieved that Yukari-san decided to drop the subject.

"Anywaaay. I'm supposed to go buy some groceries. Me and Fuuka are going to cook dinner tonight. Ken-kun? Yukari? Either one of you guys wanna come with me?"

"Sorry... I'm meeting up with one of my girl friends from school. Maybe some other time, though..." Yukari-san took a quick glance at her pink wrist-watch. "Ah, geez. I'm actually a little late now! It's your fault, Kaori!" She feigned annoyance, it was pretty obvious from the small smile on her face.

"Nuh-uh! It's all your fault for showing me that fashion magazine!" Kaori-san gave Yukari a light push on her shoulder. "What about you, Ken-kun?"

I gave a small helpless nod. I didn't want to think of how guilty I'd feel about rejecting her offer again...

* * *

_**Note: **If you're one of my usual readers/reviews, please tell me if you would prefer it if I continue writing in first person narration or if I should just stick to how I've always been writing. This is so I have some sort of idea of how I should write any future fanfics I come up with. :) _


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